3M Demoes USB 3.0 Monitor

Technology is an ever-progressing front, and as we welcome the next batch of great inventions, we also have to take in the minor steps in the same direction as well. Then again, getting a monitor that not only receives its display signal from the next step in Bluetooth tech, but is also powered by it, may not be all that minor at all. Thanks to 3M, you can now safely debate the subject, as they’ve gone ahead and demoed their first monitor that does just that.

3M have gone ahead and pulled the curtain from their first USB 3.0-powered monitor. The demo unit is an 18.5-inch model, with a resolution of 1366×768. Pocket-Lint points out that this demo isn’t demonstrating the full potential of USB 3.0; not by a long-shot, actually. The next step in USB is capable of 5Gbit on the bandwidth front, while the current version is “only” capable of 480Mbit. Basically, there doesn’t seem to be many limitations to the next standard.

And while there are many other companies out there currently working on USB 3.0 solutions, other than storage needs, it looks like 3M is the first on the market to showcase a product that’s actually powered by the upcoming standard. Now, for a bit of bad news. 3M did say that you have to plug the USB 3.0 monitor into two USB 3.0 ports, due to the fact that a single USB 3.0 port only delivers 7W of power, while the monitor itself needs 8W to function. Such is the price of advancement, we imagine.